A consultant is advising me to uproot part of my established Kesar orchard and plant Miyazaki because of the high prices in the news. This feels risky. Is replacing a proven variety with Miyazaki a sensible move?
3 Answers
Do not uproot a proven, income-earning Kesar block for Miyazaki on the strength of news prices. Be clear about what Miyazaki actually is: it is the Japanese brand name for premium graded fruit of the Irwin variety, and the eye-catching auction prices apply to Japanese greenhouse-grown, hand-pollinated, sugar-tested, individually netted select fruit, not ordinary field fruit grown in India. Treating those viral figures as your expected income is a serious financial mistake. In Indian open-field conditions, Irwin/Miyazaki will sell at premium table or novelty rates at best, not auction rates, and there is no established large Indian market paying the hyped prices. Meanwhile you would be giving up a Kesar block that has a real GI premium, proven demand, processing and pulp outlets, and a yield you already know. The sensible approach is to keep your Kesar earning and, if curious, trial a small number of genuine Irwin grafts on a spare corner for a few seasons to see how they fruit, colour and sell in your market before committing any real area. Let your own trial fruit and actual local selling rate, not a consultant's hype or social media, decide whether to expand. Always verify the genuine local price before investing, and be wary of anyone selling expensive plants on promises of lakhs per fruit.
Please do not pull out a working Kesar block for this. A friend got carried away by the news, replaced part of his orchard, and the fruit just sold as an ordinary novelty mango, nowhere near what he was promised. Trial a couple of plants if you must, never a whole block.
Kesar already gives me steady money and the Gir tag helps the rate. I planted two Miyazaki out of curiosity in a corner, that is enough to test it without risking my income.